The Beginning
Spring 2019, my daughter a ballerina was wanting a tote bag for her pointe shoes. However not just any pointe shoe bag would do. She specifically wanted one that would hold 2-3 pairs of pointe shoes and all the accessories (toe tape, toe pads, toe spacers, etc) that go with them, but also be organized. So, the search began.
There are several types of pointe shoe bags out there. Some are just a mesh sack that you through everything into (no organization), so that was an automatic no for her. Then there is the pointe shoe bag which looked more like your typical shoe bag for travel. It zippered shut and had dividers for shoes, but again no organization for other items. A third option came as a tote and had four compartments, so it could hold up to four pairs of point shoes. This seemed like it was the “one”, however with three pairs of pointe shoes and using the fourth compartment for accessories, there really was just not enough room to fit all the accessories. Now back to the drawing board.
Now she began to ask me to make her “perfect” bag. At first, I was weary. I’m not an expert seamstress, nor do I have many years of experience creating bags. Let alone designing one from scratch to fit her exact expectations. So, she began to sketch out how she wanted it to look. From there I began with paper templates that I could fold, tape, refold and tape again. After several, and I mean several tries, I finally had a concept that could work.
Next, the fabric. What kind of fabric would be best? Pointe shoes need to dry out between uses otherwise they go dead faster. Yes, I said dead, as that is the term she uses when her shoes are no longer usable, essentially, they die. Actually, what happens is the paper mache box at the toe gets to soft (from all the sweat) that it no longer holds its shape so it no longer supports the dancer. There are other ways a pointe shoe can die, but this is the way hers die most often. So that means the tote bag needs to be partially if not mostly made of a mesh material to allow the shoes to breathe and dry out between uses. However, mesh alone is not supportive to hold shape as a tote bag or strength enough to support everything she wants to carry in it. Therefore, I decided to go with a durable canvas that would stand up to the wear and tear of toting these pointe shoes around. Bonus points: it is washable! Wether you have a dancer or your child plays sports of any kind you know their shoes STINK. This bag definitely needed to be washable.
First try: the bag worked! So exciting to have designed and sewn and created the from scratch. So, she tries it 
out for a week and lets me know that it is not the “perfect bag” the compartments are to small. Well of course there had to be something to fix.
Second try: resizing the compartments to fit all pointe shoes with ease. Yes, success a second time. Now she has used it for about a month and tells me again this is not the “perfect bag”, the accessories are rolling around the bottom of the bag and are not staying in their assigned compartment.
Third try: Hey, third times the charm, right? I also had the thought to make it a bit extra special and embroider her name on one side. Since I’m making the bag again I might as well try something new with it. This time I sewed down the compartments to the bottom of the bag so nothing could roll around the bottom. Guess what? Yes, third time is the charm. She has been using this bag for over a year now and I am so excited to share it with you.
Please check out my shop and see if her perfect pointe shoe tote bag is the perfect pointe shoe tote bag for your dancer.
-Heather
Nutty en Pointe